Thank you to Rosie Danan and Berkley for this ARC!
Oh my GODDDDDDDD this book was written for me. I am obsessed. I can't stop thinking about it. I haven't had a book make me feel the way this one did in such a long time. I genuinely smiled so much reading this book (I don't usually do this but I genuinely had a smile plastered to my face the whole time).
Quick plot summary: Alex is a vet tech and she was a huge fan of The Arcane Files, a werewolf tv, show when she was a teenager and she had a massive crush on Devin Ashwood, the star. But one day she had a bad interaction with him and she vows to hold a grudge against him. Fast forward a bunch of years in the future, Devin suddenly makes the news when he shows up in public with fangs and claws and all the werewolfy features. Weird! Not knowing what to do, he searches up his symptoms and is directed to a fan site run by "the mod" (I wonder who that could be). And the rest is history!
Alex was SUCH a realistic character. A complete nerd/fangirl who's forced to live in the real world and who is plagued by her childhood crush. So real. I saw so much of myself in her and seeing her learn to accept love after everything she had experienced was so refreshing. When she said, "it was searing to be seen" I GASPED. She really was written for us.
Devin. Ohhhhh Devin. I love him so much and I wish he was real because I would 100% be in love with him. His chapters had the FUNNIEST narration (see: "Devin swallowed. AO3 had recently introduced him to the concept of Fated Mates."). And his character arc was amazing! Seeing his viewpoints, priorities, and perspectives change as time passed was so good and made me really appreciate his character.
I 10000000% recommend this book to pretty much anyone and I really want everyone to read it when it comes out so I have so many people to talk to about it.

I loved Fan Service. The main characters were fun and funny. A sort of love at second sight. The magic in the story was great. The characters had depth but that balanced with searing sexy banter and wolfy sniffing. Danan has become a can’t miss author!!!!! I have the best reading hangover :).

This book was not what I was expecting.

I'm a Rosie Danan fangirl, but this one missed the mark for me.

So, the MMC is actually a werewolf... which was not clear to me from any of the marketing or the tagline of the book. It's one thing to read a paranormal romance. It's another to read a paranormal romance disguised as a romcom. I was as confused as Devin for a lot of this book.

I also did not vibe with some of the strange power dynamics, the way Devin was lowkey an asshole, and the way she kind of went along with this despite tearing him to shreds for years online and in private.

All in all, this is more a commentary on parasocial relationships than it is a romance. And it's definitely paranormal--you've been warned.

This was such a fun and funny read - The premise was done in a way that I think only Rosie Danan could have pulled it off. Not a huge fan of shifter romance etc but I was able to put that aside as it was just one facet of the story! Also there were some laugh out loud parts in this story !

Thanks for the early copy for review

3.5 ⭐️
I absolutely devoured Do Your Worst so I was beyond ecstatic to receive this copy.
While I found the premise to be fun and captivating and I really like really really liked Alex. She was relatable. Not a typical girly girl. Stood up for herself, allowed herself to feel- but also was a big girl and could put a past experience behind her to help someone in need.

Fan Service was the PERFECT paranormal read I didn’t know I needed for spooky season!! It was a love letter to fans everywhere, and I couldn’t have felt more seen while reading.

THE PLOT

Our FMC Alex lives and breathes The Arcane Files, a detective show where the main character is also a werewolf. However, after an embarrassing encounter with her long-time crush and TAF star Devin Ashwood, Alex buries her obsession for the show and star. So imagine her surprise when she gets an email years later from none other than Devin, explaining a black-out drunk night where he had…claws?

Alex reluctantly agrees to work together with Devin to try to understand what’s happening to him, but it doesn’t take long for all of those old feelings to come floating back to the surface.

This was such a funky, creative plot and I ate up every page! The cover caught my initial attention, and I’ve never hit the “Request” button harder than I did after reading blurb for Fan Service. Just the lore itself on The Arcane Files took me back to my Supernatural days, and I loved all the little shenanigans Devin and Alex got up to throughout the book. The ending completely shattered me and I spent the last two chapters so stressed! Don’t you just love a book that truly makes you feel something?

THE WRITING

Sometimes the writing made me forget Devin is in his 40s, but I’ll be honest and say I didn’t find it that big of a deal. There was an odd millennial/gen-z type mix of humor being used, and I kinda liked it. Both Devin and Alex tended to monologue a lot, but I liked their different descriptions of each other as the book went on.

THE CHARACTERS

ALEX

Alex, you are me and I am you.

To say I feel for Alex would be an understatement. Every time she talked about her deepest insecurities of letting people in, or her fear of abandonment, or that feeling of not fitting in anywhere, I felt a little pang in my heart. She was the ultimate nerdy fangirl (she just like me fr) and I loved learning about the community center that she cherished so much.

DEVIN

DEVIN ASHWOOD THE MAN THAT YOU ARE!!!

The things I would let this 42 year old man do to me…but I digress.

All jokes aside, I have never wanted to wrap an MMC in a hug more than Devin Ashwood. I think his backstory hit me frighteningly hard especially now that all these child celebrities, like Jeanette McCurdy for example, are coming out and vocalizing the things they went through working in the industry as children. Learning about his parents mistreatment and where his feeling of never being enough came from absolutely broke me. Under the surface, Devin is just the sweetest guy who wants to be loved as much as he loves others, and I loved him and Alex together.

ROWEN

Rowen was the cutest little side character, and I loved their interactions with both Alex and Devin. The scene between them and Devin where Devin made his own pronoun pin was literally THE CUTEST SCENE EVER!!

ISAAC

We must protect this man with everything we’ve got!! Everything Alex felt for her dad, I feel for my own, so that hit especially hard. The scene of Isaac and Devin cleaning out the gutters was my absolute favorite, and I loved how supportive Isaac was of Devin and Alex.

SETH

Seth was probably in about a total of 5% of the book, but I don’t care he deserves his own section!! He was such a little cutie patootie. I’m glad he kept pushing Alex to be friends because she absolutely needed it. The scene where he’s in the dunk tank and he’s getting bullied had me so heated. Also protect this man with everything we’ve got!!

CONCLUSION

All in all, I thought this was such a fun book!! I honestly can’t recommend it enough, and I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy in March!!

Fan Service is a fun paranormal romance a la Teen Wolf fans (the movie is mentioned, though I’m of the Tyler Posey MTV show era). We have our main girl Alex (34), who is a bad ass who had faced rough challenges (her mom leaving, a dad with medical issues, and being a self proclaimed weirdo) and is the former moderator of tv show fandom board. She takes (almost) no shit and is actually a tattooed softie. She also has a gap between her front teeth, which is even portrayed on the cover. I feel like that’s important to note because it’s not a trait we often see in romance books - but it’s so common in real life! Her MMC is Devin, a 42-year old (hello age gap) child star best known for his success of The Arcane Files (of which Alex is the Mod) and he’s possibly becoming a werewolf? Oh noooo, say it ain’t so 😂. The slow burn made for an enjoyable story.

Rosie Danan truly caters to the fanfic people out there and throws in a lot of niche and fun references. It was a love letter to anyone who grew up feeling weird and out of place with their interests (and has maybe since found camaraderie with fellow self proclaimed weirdos via social media). It’s like a fanfic of a fanfic.

One aspect of the story I found to be an interesting retrospective was the exploration of parasocial relationships. Granted it’s a romance, if you put yourself in Alex’s shoes of meeting and becoming involved with the celebrity you grew up loving, can you imagine?! There are a lot of moments where Alex is kinda like “oh my god what is my life” and I was like, same girl! I don’t always love the Hollywood/normal person trope but it felt really right in this story. The story definitely has its serious moments (re: parental abandonment/no-contact) and it’s balanced well with the fun, lighter parts. The early 2000s nostalgia mixed with millennial humor really enraptured me! Also knowing what we know now about what kids/teen in the movie industry have gone through (Jennette McCurdy, Drake Bell, Amanda Bynes, Ariana Grande, etc.), I think it’s important to have realistic stories portraying that growing up a child star isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Romance wise, I could’ve used a little more clear commutation, being that Alex was 34 and Devin was 42, but they also didn’t seem to have major successful relationships in their past, so I let it slide. (Also because I was truly really invested in them smashing). It blurred the line between romance/fantasy/romantasy and I wished it leaned a bit more into the romantasy for sakes of getting lost in the story and not overthinking some of the logistics. It didn’t need the world building because it’s set in modern day Florida.

Fans of Rachel Lynn Solomon’s Business or Pleasure, Lana Ferguson’s The Fake Mate, and Ali Hazelwood’s Bride, will find Fan Service as a must-read.

FS was definitely spicy and teetering the line of more AO3 type of spice scenes. That said, I personally felt like there could’ve been a bit more spice and even more tension. I’d say it’s probably about a 2.5 🌶️ though rounding up to 3 is fair.

I would 1000% read another book set in this universe and anything else Rosie Danan writes. I need more paranormal romance in my life.

I also highly recommend imagining an older Tyler Posey (or Dylan O’Brien for the Stiles girlies) as Devin for a fun reading experience.

Thank you so much to Berkley and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was delightful. Very fun! I think for those who grew up with fandom/fanfic it’ll be especially fun. I have to say that I appreciate a new take on werewolf lore and it was a great start for Halloween month! Rosie Danan always writes a fun and engaging story and it was definitely a fast-paced read! It also had some reminiscences of Buffy but with werewolves which is always an A plus choice. Overall, super enjoyable!

”whatever’s happened to me, whatever i am now, i want you more than any human ever could.” ₊ ⊹

my thoughts┊this was pretty good! if you’re still wanting something reminiscent of bride by ali hazelwood or the fake mate by lana ferguson, this should definitely be on your radar!

the concept of this was pretty fun, and it kind of reminded me a smidge of one of my favorite books, spoiler alert by olivia dade. essentially, an older actor who used to be the main lead in a teen wolf-esque show randomly starts turning into a werewolf, and recruits the help of a woman who used the run this elaborate website dedicated to the show. it was definitely unique, and i really liked the progression of the story! there was a lot of development in both characters, and the emotional aspect really struck my heart.

i did have some irks with this, though. firstly, the writing in this felt kind of weird? i don’t really know how to describe it besides the fact that it felt like it was geared towards millennials with the humor aspects. the jokes were kind of a miss, and a lot of word choices the author made just struck me as weird. i don’t remember feeling this way about any of the other books i’ve read by her, so that made it stick out to me a little more. secondly, i didn’t really like devin’s character much. he did have some decent development, and i did end up liking him a smidge, but idk. some of the thoughts he had or comments he made just rubbed me the wrong way. he was also incredibly immature, and i found it hard to believe that he was supposed to be in his forties. i think this story could’ve worked just as well with him being closer to alex’s age. thirdly, i wish the whole werewolf thing had been explored more. it felt like there was no real rhyme or reason or explanation or anything behind it; it was just something that happened and there was no real depth to the why.

overall, there were some moments that made me struggle to read this, but there were also a lot of aspects i really enjoyed. i was initially gonna rate this a 2.5, but i did like the ending a lot more than i was expecting, so i feel good leaving it with 3 stars.

Fan Service was very fun paranormal rom-com that genuinely made me laugh out loud. This is a great read for someone looking for a lighter read for the Halloween season.

I really loved Do Your Worst and, unfortunately, I just couldn't connect with this one. It is a fun and silly premise but wasn't super invested in the characters.

This book was not an unexpected five star read for me. I knew as soon as I saw the cover and author that it was going to be fantastic and boy did Rosie Danan deliver. This is the werewolf book of my dreams.

Devin played a werewolf on The Arcane Files for so long, he isn't sure who he is without Colby. When he starts mysteriously blacking out and then even more mysteriously turning into a wolf- he does the only thing he can think of. He consults his shows wiki page. Enter Alex, ex-Colby diehard who left her meet and greet heartbroken. With a love for The Arcane Files she runs a website all things about the show. Imagine her surprise when she gets a random SOS email from Devin. Armed with her extensive knowledge of Arcane Files lore, the two unlikely allies work together to figure out what the heck is going on.

The premise was hilarious- also the fandom references and the ships and the diehard fangirling felt like an homage to my youth. Alex and Devin were so funny together and wholesome.

If you like:

-werewolves
-slow burn
-early 2000s nostalgia

Absolutely iconic read and I cannot wait to see what Rosie Danan concocts next!

honestly, this one just wasn’t my cup of tea :( the premise is super interesting, but I just couldn’t get past the fact that the MMC is supposed to be 42 bc the way he acts doesn’t match his age at all and it threw me off the entire time 😭 the rest of the book is okay but that one issue was too big to overlook for me

Arc review: 5 ⭐️
Ok so I think this book was written for me? Like just me. Personally. Thank you Rosie for writing me my special exclusive dedicated to me book.

For the rest of you out there that are lucky enough to read MY book, I think you’ll love it too. ESPECIALLY if you ever were in a fandom and have spent (maybe a little too much) time on a wiki.

To take a line directly from the book:
#blackcat/goldenretriever #enemies-to-lovers #agegap 300k rated E

If you understood that- this is your official sign to read this book.

Thank you Berkeley and NetGalley for the arc! Five stars! As a long-suffering Supernatural fan, this book was like a healing salve. I have never felt more seen by a romance novel. So many authors try to translate the fandom experience into their books and miss the mark completely, but you can tell Rosie Danan has LIVED IT.

Such a good balance of romance, spice and story. Just fun all the way through, as usual. Loved it!

So much fun! The fandom girlies will be so happy with this one. Loved the redemption arcs for both characters and the fated mates trope is honestly the best. Rosie's work is always a must read.

A fun and imaginative thought exercise: what if the former star of a cult supernatural show developed the powers of his character? That’s (maybe) what happens to Devin, who wakes up one morning nude and unsure of what happened during the full moon. His confusion and panic leads him to Alex, who used to run a fan site for his show and now loathes him. Mostly. Kind of. It’s complicated.

This was different than I expected, and a lot more serious in parts, but still a very entertaining read. Alex is a badass.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

surprisingly the only thing i really had fun with was the werewolf aspect, the. tests were fun. i in no world could believe devin is a 42 year old man.

3.5 stars. This reads like an ode to fanfic. Or a fanfic of a fanfic. It’s entertaining, fun, and slightly cringy (but not in a bad way?) all at the same time.

I’m absolutely obsessed with this book cover but I wouldn’t really say that the book was great. It was honestly really mid and I wouldn’t even say it’s a romance. If it is a romance, it’s an incredibly slow burn romance that makes it unbelievably hard to believe that the characters would fall in love with each other. It a great homage to fandom and the character grow throughout the book was great but everything else was just kind of meh.

I also absolutely hated what she did with Devin‘s character and wish that he got to fight back against those who abused him.